TOLEDO, Ohio _ Every year, an explosion of microscopic life reigns over western Lake Erie, forming a green slick of algae and bacteria so massive and vibrant that it can be seen from space.
The harmful algae bloom slimes fishing boats, paints beaches in toxins and engulfs water intake cribs. In 2014, it left 400,000 people without drinking water for three days after toxins infiltrated Toledo's water system. Then-Gov. John Kasich declared a state of emergency and called in the National Guard to distribute bottled water in an incident that served notice that drinking water from Lake Erie was in peril.
This year, the bloom was among the most severe and toxic since scientists began keeping track in the early 2000s. At its peak, it coated around 620 square miles of Lake Erie's surface waters, an area more than twice the size of Chicago, according to satellite imagery. The sheer weight of blue-green bacteria making up the bloom _ forecast to be around 46,000 metric tons _ was expected to be a new record.
"If you did a Google image search for 'Toledo water,' what would pop up is the Toledo skyline where the Maumee River looks like the Chicago River on (St. Patrick's Day)," Mayor Wade Kapszukiewicz said. "The only difference is we didn't put any dye in it."
Climate change is jeopardizing two of the most precious resources the Midwest possesses: food and water, according to federal studies. Greater rainfall and more powerful storms are eroding some of the richest soils in the United States and, in doing so, washing bloom-inducing fertilizers from farm fields into Lake Erie. More frequent torrential downpours are also overpowering antiquated sewer systems at times, releasing a profusion of raw sewage into waterways, further polluting and degrading water quality.
Meanwhile, warmer temperatures are allowing the microbes within algae blooms _ particularly the toxin-producing bacteria _ to flourish in greater numbers and for more months of the year, posing elevated and prolonged risks to drinking water, wildlife and the $15.1 billion tourism industry along Ohio's coastline.
The Great Lakes are all connected and collectively hold 20% of the world's fresh surface water, but each lake has unique features _ depth, shape, size and surroundings _ making them vulnerable to different aspects of climate change.
Algae blooms occur annually across the region in shallow, sheltered waters like Saginaw Bay in Lake Huron and Green Bay in Lake Michigan. A large algae bloom even developed once in the normally pristine waters of Lake Superior near the Apostle Islands, a harbinger that no environment is immune.
The danger is most acute in Lake Erie _ the shallowest, southernmost and warmest of the Great Lakes _ which is a natural incubator for these colonies of microorganisms.
While countries across the globe face drought and water insecurity, it's a bitter irony that some communities sitting on the edge of the planet's largest system of freshwater _ more than 11 million people depend on Lake Erie for drinking water _ are compelled to buy bottled water.
"As population explodes, water is going to be the most valuable resource on planet Earth by the end of this century. It therefore represents the greatest advantage that this part of the country has. This region _ the Great Lakes region, the Snow Belt, the Rust Belt, whatever you want to call it _ has faced hard times over the last 50-60 years," Kapszukiewicz said. "But ... if we can hold on, we may be the most valuable part of the country. Frankly, with what we have, (the Midwest) could be Saudi Arabia in 100 years. We just can't squander it."
Billions of dollars have been spent monitoring Lake Erie's water quality, overhauling drinking water treatment and reducing sewage outflows. But the biggest contributor to these blooms _ agricultural runoff, which is responsible for up to 89% of the phosphorus flowing into Lake Erie _ remains largely unregulated.
"The amount of manure from pigs, chickens and cows that goes into the western basin, that seeps untreated directly into Lake Erie, is roughly equivalent to all human waste from the cities of Chicago and Los Angeles combined," Kapszukiewicz said. "That's just how much animal manure is going in untreated _ I'm not even talking about what they spray on crops. This is why we're living in the world we're living in."
